Abuja, Nigeria, 25 July 2025: – Ramping up its support for the growth of Africa’s creative economy, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), acting through CANEX Creations Inc., has signed a term sheet for an equity investment in Creative Reality Entertainment Arts & Music (C.R.E.A.M), the talent discovery and content monetisation platform founded by Nigerian music megastar Mr. Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo popularly known as D’Banj.
As part of efforts to support the growth of Africa’s creative economy, CANEX Creations Inc. (CCInc)—an entity established by Afreximbank to invest in and commercialize African intellectual property—has entered into a strategic equity investment agreement with D’Kings Men Media Ltd., owners of the C.R.E.A.M platform.
The agreement, signed during the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2025) in Abuja, Nigeria, by Mr. Osahon Akpata, Head of CCInc, and Mr. Daniel Oladapo Oyebanjo (D’Banj), CEO of D’Kings Men Media Ltd., outlines a proposed investment by CANEX Creations Inc in support of C.R.E.A.M platform’s growth and expansion plans. The prospective transaction is subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence and final board approval.
The new partnership positions CANEX Creations, Inc. to back homegrown, tech-enabled solutions that bridge infrastructure gaps in Africa’s creative economy. It also signals the growing investor confidence in African intellectual property while affirming the role of cultural icons, like D’Banj, in building scalable platforms that unlock economic value from creativity and talent.
Launched in 2016 through D’Kings Men Media Ltd., C.R.E.A.M. is a digital platform designed to tackle the struggle for visibility and fair compensation that is often faced by African creatives, by directly enabling talent discovery and monetisation through accessible mobile technology.
Operated via web (www.creamplatform.com) and USSD (*463#) on MTN, Nigeria’s largest mobile network, the platform has built a wide reach and strong user base through which it offers aspiring creatives across Africa a low-cost, accessible entry point into the entertainment industry.
“The C.R.E.A.M. Platform, which currently has over seven million subscribers across Nigeria, has received more than 10,000 content submissions and has directly supported over 38,000 creatives through funding, showcase, cash rewards, talent development, mentorship and marketing support” said Mr. Oyebanjo, CEO of D’Kings Men Media Ltd.
C.R.E.A.M’s talent success stories include the discovery of names like Berri Tiga, who has become a household name with his hit single “Machala”; Specikingin, the fast-emerging Afrobeats act discovered in partnership with MTN; and Slimcase, who was discovered with Mr. Real, Legbegbe; as well as LADE, whose viral hit “Adulthood Anthem” was sponsored by the platform.
Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Osahon Akpata, Head of CANEX Creations, Inc., said that the investment reflected Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting Africa’s creative and cultural industries and was expected to strengthen C.R.E.A.M. by enabling it to expand its reach through the development of innovative new offerings for creatives.
“The creative economy holds immense promise for addressing Africa’s unemployment challenges, globally, it is valued at over US$2 trillion,” said Mr. Akpata. “It offers substantial revenue streams for small businesses and creates countless employment opportunities, especially for the youth. With Africa’s under-25 population accounting for a significant proportion of the continent’s people, we see important opportunities in the sector.”
The partnership is part of Afreximbank’s broader Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) initiative, which has committed US$2 billion to support the continent’s creative and cultural industries. Beyond financing, Afreximbank is actively engaging with governments to shape enabling policies and is championing stronger intellectual property protection across the continent in an effort to ensure that African creatives not only gain recognition but also retain control and earn from their work.
AAM2025 took place from 25 to 28 June and attracted an estimated 8,000 participants, including presidents, prime ministers, ministers and business leaders, from across Africa, the Caribbean and beyond.
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About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
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